How to Say ‘Can’t’ in Korean – 80/20*

Vocabulary:

     Can’t (impossible) – 불가능 (bulganeung)

     Can’t (do) – ~ㄹ/을 수 없다 (l/eul su eopda)

     Can’t (don’t) – ~ㄹ 줄 모르다 (jul moreuda)

     Can’t (don’t) – 못하다 (mothada)

     Can’t (allow) – ~면 안되다 (myeon andoeda)

How to remember (association):

This is a re-post of an essay I wrote earlier this month for The National Interest. Basically, I have been amazed in the media discussion of the Sino-US trade war at how little effort there’s been to explain why it might be a good idea – namely, if you accept that China is a serious medium- and long-term threat to the United States.

Way back when I first was starting to learn Korean I remember hearing about "bright" and "dark" vowels in the Korean language. At the time, it sounded too mystical and far-fetched to be true, almost like some legend or conspiracy. But I put it away in my pocket and kept going, not really looking back at it until a few years later.

Thanks to The American magazine (a great publication for American expats living and working in Britain), I can now share my first article published in Britain. I have now been published in the United States, South Korea and Britain! Where next?

No matter how advanced smartphone cameras get, there is one thing that they all still struggle with and that is getting decent long exposures. Sure, they can boost shadows and brighten the image but they still can’t get that look of when you hold your shutter open for 30 seconds and traffic turns into a brilliant beam of light.

This past Sunday (yesterday here in Korea) I got to meet several of my fans in real life, at the Han River in Seoul. I admit that before going, I was nervous because it was my first time holding a fan meetup, but everything went great from the very beginning. We had a fun time first talking and hanging out together. Then I held a live Q&A for a half hour, followed by filming two interview videos in English and Korean. I asked some of the attendees why they started learning Korean, and if they had any advice for other learners.

I had a wonderful time meeting everyone who came, and hope to be able to have another event sometime in the future. Thanks again to those of you who were able to make it that day. 감사합니다~!

I started hearing a lot more people in Korea using "갑분싸" last year and felt it would be a good time to make a video about it. Here's a newly created word that's gaining some decent traction, and IMO is a safe word to learn for the future (it won't likely go out of style right away). You can use this word in a variety of situations, but it's easy to use and even beginners can add it to their conversations.

Adding new phrases like these to your Korean can help you to sound more like a native. For more words, you can also check out the other episodes in this series (this is episode 4). Let me know if there are any other new words that you've heard and would like me to cover~.